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2018-09-13-3-day-startup

Start Me Up: Innovative Entrepreneurship Program Comes to Campus

Julia Fishman

September 13, 2018 — 3 Day Startup (3DS) is coming to Marist. This innovative Austin-based nonprofit delivers intensive, hands-on entrepreneurship education programs to college and university students around the world. 3DS’s model has students working together in groups during an intensive three-day experience covering everything from ideation to pitching ventures. The group has been to colleges and universities all over the world, including Harvard, MIT, the University of Edinburgh, and Peking University.

“This is an outstanding experiential learning opportunity,” said Associate Professor of Management David Gavin, co-organizer of the program. “Students will learn in three days how to take an idea and create a realistic business.”

Organized by the School of Management, the 3DS experience is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all majors. Applications are being accepted now and the deadline to apply is Friday, October 26. The program will be held on campus Friday, November 9 through Sunday, November 11. There is no cost to apply and the program is free, but space is limited.

To apply students must fill out the online application. Having a business idea is not required to be accepted, but Gavin and co-organizer Jay Pantaleo, Director of Executive Programs, are seeking students who can articulate why the 3DS model appeals to them. Gavin and Pantaleo are also recruiting business representatives from the Hudson Valley region to be part of program by mentoring students and listening to their pitches. They are also seeking seasoned entrepreneurs, angel investors, and distinguished professors to serve as panelists as the students make their final pitches, on the last day of the event.

The School of Management is thrilled to bring this well-regarded program to Marist for the first time. “Marist is joining the ranks of some of the top colleges and universities in the world by bringing this dynamic organization to campus,” explained School of Management Dean Lawrence Singleton. “One of the best aspects of 3DS is the fact that it’s not a competition. The focus is on creativity, idea development, and working together.”

Gavin concurred. “Learning how to work with others in the idea development process will be of great value to Marist students. Drawing on the creativity of others can speed up the product development process.”

The program has an impressive track record: 3DS has been in 179 schools across six continents, launched 135 companies, and had 38 companies accepted to accelerators such as Y Combinator, Tech Stars, 500 Startups, Capital Factory, and Dreamit Ventures.

“Our hands-on entrepreneurship programs to teach students the skills they need at the early stages of founding a company. These skills matter because an entrepreneurial mindset and an entrepreneurial approach to your future opens doors that students might not have known were there before,” said Cam Houser, Founder and Chief Innovation Officer of 3DS. “With a focus on unlocking student potential in an experiential way, 3DS programs turn students of all backgrounds into confident entrepreneurs.”